A Baltimore County-based veteran has been accused of illegally obtaining more than $1 million in Social Security and Veterans Disability benefits since 2007 by falsely claiming to be paraplegic, prosecutors said.

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       William Rich, 41, received benefits for more than a decade before being audited by the inspector general’s office in the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2018, when the office learned of behaviors that were “inconsistent with his purported condition,” prosecutors said.

       According to the U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland, Veterans Affairs (VA) rated Rich 100 percent disabled due to the loss of use of both lower extremities, neurogenic bowel dysfunction and post-traumatic stress disorder with short-term memory loss. He was also awarded allowances for a caregiver, automotive and adaptive equipment and specially adapted housing, authorities said in court records.

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       Rich served in the U.S. Army from 1998 to 2007 and was injured in 2005 while serving in Iraq, officials said. He received an annual physical examination in October of 2005 in which a report from the examination stated that his paralysis had “resolved somewhat,” according to the criminal complaint issued by VA.

       In a 2006 report from Rich’s annual physical examination, it was stated that he had the ability to perform essential daily activities with “complete independence” or “modified independence,” the criminal complaint said. He, however, was granted permanent disability from VA following a 2007 exam that stated he had been confined to a wheelchair after his 2005 accident, prosecutors said.

       Following the 2018 audit of his claim, VA Office of Inspector General special agents began surveilling Rich and witnessed him “walking, going up and down stairs, entering and exiting vehicles, lifting, bending, and carrying items — all without visible limitation or assistance of a medical device, including a wheelchair,” according to the Maryland U.S. attorney’s office.

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       Special agents reported that Rich only used a wheelchair when he had a VA medical appointment and said they observed him loading and unloading his wheelchair before and after his appointments.

       An affidavit filled in U.S. District Court in Maryland further detailed investigators’ allegations of deception.

       Brian Maddox, a special agent with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, used Rich’s Facebook and Twitter accounts to build a case against him throughout his investigation.

       Maddox reported that he had found evidence of an Instagram post made by Rich in a gym standing without any assistance, according to court filings. The caption on the post read, “Lol lift or leave,″ Maddox alleged.

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       According to the VA, he also used funds intended for the purchase of a specially adapted vehicle to purchase a BMW coupe.

       Rich is being represented by the Federal Public Defender’s Office. His attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

       On Oct. 13, Rich made his first appearance in federal court and was released pending trial. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in total in federal prison on charges of wire fraud and theft of government property.